The War Zone – A mysterious Chinese vessel with a large open flight deck and three superstructures, which TWZ was first to report on, looks to have made its maiden voyage. Details about the flattop, which currently has various commercial-style rather than military markings and is unlike any other established Chinese Navy vessel class, are still scant. There remains a possibility that this could be a first-of-its-kind ostensibly civilian research ship.

China Maritime Studies Institute – In recent years, with the expansion of mission tasks, multiple services and multiple aircraft types organizing training at the same Southern Theater Command Navy aviation airfield station has gradually become the norm. In the face of increasingly heavy combat training support tasks, they closely monitor powerful enem(ies), accelerate transformation and construction, and have achieved a historic leap from single aircraft-type support to multiple aircraft-types support, from small flying periods of short-term deployed training support to large flying periods of regularized deployed training support, and from daytime simple meteorological conditions support to allweather support, with core support capabilities being comprehensively enhanced.

Breaking Defense – The head of US Indo-Pacific Command, Adm. Samuel Paparo, told an audience today that in exchange for North Korean troops and artillery, Moscow “will likely” provide Pyongyang with missile and submarine technology. And in exchange for China helping to rebuild “Russia’s war machine,” Paparo anticipates that Moscow will also be sharing submarine technology with Beijing, a move that has the “potential of closing American undersea dominance to the PRC.”

National Interest – James Holmes writes that Latin America merits attention in its own right, but it also represents a southerly vector in the U.S. strategic competition against China.